Special Teams Haunt Rockets in Tournament Opening Loss

The Mac's Midget Tournament got off to a rough start for the Okanagan Rockets with a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.

Special teams tell the tale of the game as the Rockets were 0-5 on the man advantage, while the Jr. Canes managed 2 goals in 9 opportunities.

"We just didn't do enough of the things that have given us success over the last 2 months." said Rockets general manager David Michaud. "I thought our speed just wasn't there today."

Sean Kuehn posted the shutout for the Jr. Hurricanes as he stopped all 35 shots he faced including 15 in the opening period when the Rockets generated the majority of their top flight chances. The Rockets outshot the Jr. Hurricanes 35-23 in the game.

"There were a couple of opportunities early in the game that we just couldn't finish on and ultimately they buried their chances."

The Rockets trailed 2-0 after one period, and the score remained that way until the 3rd when Troy Sutherland drove the final nail in the Rockets coffin just 3:19 into the 3rd period with the Canes second powerplay goal of the game.

Brenden Mills stopped 20 of 23 in the loss for the Rockets.

The Rockets will have little time to lick their wounds as they face the Lethbridge Pronghorns tomorrow morning at 9:00 am mountain time. For the Pronghorns, it will be their tournament opening game. For the Rockets, it's literally a must win contest if the club has designs on reaching the playoff round for the 1st time in team history at the Mac's.